Saleh\'s hold weakens in restive areas

Hundreds of anti-government protesters took to the streets in the capital Sanaa SANAA, Yemen  - Arabstoday As Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh struggles to retain power in the face of weeks-long protests, the central government's control over restive provinces in the north and south has weakened substantially in recent days, both officials and insurgent leaders said on Tuesday.
For years, Yemen has battled a tribal insurgency in the north and militants in the south, and both groups have capitalised on the political turmoil of the last two months to make territorial gains. The most visible indication of the losses came on Monday when a large explosion occurred at a munitions factory in Jaar, a city in the southern province of Abyan, killing more than 100 people. The incident followed a takeover of much of the province by militants loyal to Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, witnesses said. The fighters had battled for days against military units throughout the province, which is rife with secessionist groups and tribes hostile to the government. Large stretches of other provinces fell into insurgent hands more quietly, and Saleh administration officials acknowledge that at least six of the country's 18 provinces are now out of the government's control.
Desperation and anger have long fed the insurgencies in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula. More than half the population is illiterate and more than 40 per cent unemployed. In the northern province of Sa'ada, leaders of a long-standing Al Houthi tribal rebellion took control last week after Saleh's military commander in the region, General Ali Mohsen Ahmar, joined the opposition movement. Faris Manaa, an arms smuggler and head of a prominent local family, declared himself to be governor. "The people's revolution has taken total control of the situation in Sa'ada," Manaa said. "The army and local leaders have given their blessing to what has happened." Al Houthi elements also were reported to have claimed large swaths of territory in the neighbouring provinces of Jawf and Mareb, in what some analysts are attributing to the defections of army units stationed in the north.


From Gulfnews